---
title: "How to build a volunteer management system on WordPress without code"
date: 2025-08-05
updated: 2026-09-29
author: "Casey Burridge"
link: "https://www.gravitykit.com/volunteer-management/"
category: "Products > GravityView"
---

Nonprofits depend on volunteers, but tracking their skills and hours across spreadsheets and inboxes gets messy fast.

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to build your own volunteer management system on WordPress with Gravity Forms and GravityView. You'll end up with a sign-up form, a searchable volunteer database, and profiles volunteers can update themselves, without writing code or paying for another subscription.

Let’s dive in!

**Download the free volunteer registration form template now!**

Import the template into Gravity Forms and customize as necessary.

 ![Volunteer registration form built with Gravity Forms](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/volunteer-registration-776x1024.png)

## Sneak peek

Here's the volunteer database we'll build in this tutorial:

![A volunteer database built with GravityView using the Vantage theme, with a search bar for skills, hours per month and city, and a table of volunteers showing photo, name, date of birth, city, hours, skills and a View Details link](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/volunteer-management-table-1024x773.png)

###### Wanna try it?

#### Spin up a demo

See what you can build with GravityView — explore the live demo.

[Try a Demo](https://gravityview.demo.gravitykit.com/)![](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/spin-up-a-demo.png)

## What you’ll need

- [**Gravity Forms**](https://www.gravityforms.com/pricing/) – collects volunteer sign-ups and stores each one as an entry.
- [**GravityView**](https://www.gravitykit.com/products/gravityview/) – turns those entries into a searchable volunteer database with a profile page for each volunteer.
- [**Gravity Forms User Registration Add-On**](https://www.gravityforms.com/feature/user-registration/) (optional) – creates a WordPress account for each volunteer when they sign up, so they can log in and edit their own profile in Step 3.

## What is volunteer management for nonprofits?

Volunteer management is how a nonprofit recruits, trains, tracks, and stays in touch with its volunteers. When it works, the right people turn up for the right jobs, and volunteers stay involved for longer.

A good volunteer management system helps you:

- Stay organized
- Retain volunteers for longer
- Improve communication and productivity
- Scale up operations with limited staff

## Summary of the steps

Time needed: 15 minutes

Steps for building a volunteer management system using Gravity Forms and GravityView:

1. **Create a volunteer registration form**Build a Gravity Forms form to collect volunteer information such as name, skills, and hours per month.
2. **Build the volunteer database and profiles**Use GravityView to display entries in a searchable table on the front end, with a profile page for each volunteer.
3. **(Optional) Let volunteers edit their profiles**Turn on Allow User Edit and add an Edit Entry link so volunteers can update their own details.
4. **Embed your View on a page**Add your volunteer database to a page using the GravityView View block.
5. **(Optional) Restrict access**Limit who can see volunteer records by user role or login status.

## Step 1: Create a volunteer registration form

First, we'll create the form volunteers use to sign up. Each submission becomes an entry, and each entry becomes a volunteer in your database.

To create a new form, we'll hover over **Forms** in the WordPress sidebar and click **New Form**. After giving the form a title, we'll click **Create Form**.

![The modal that appears when creating a new form in Gravity Forms](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-22.png)
*Next, we'll add fields in the [Gravity Forms visual form builder](https://www.gravitykit.com/gravity-forms-visual-editor/). Drag each field into place from the panel on the right*![The Gravity Forms visual form editor interface](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-23-1024x561.png)
*Add whichever fields your organization needs. For this example, we'll use:*
- Name (Name field)
- Profile photo (File Upload field)
- Date of birth (Date field)
- Hours per month (Number field)
- Address (Address field)
- Skills (Checkbox field)

In the File Upload field settings, set **Allowed file extensions** to [common image formats](https://blog.hubspot.com/insiders/different-types-of-image-files) such as `png`, `jpg`, and `webp`, so volunteers can only upload photos.

Here's the form on the front end:

![A volunteer registration form built using Gravity Forms as part of a WordPress volunteer management system](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-24-642x1024.png)**Pro tip**Save time by [downloading the volunteer registration form template](#download-template)
Next, embed the form on a page so volunteers can sign up:

- Create or edit a WordPress page
- Add a **Gravity Forms** block
- Select your volunteer form from the dropdown

![The Gravity Forms WordPress block](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-25.png)

## Step 2: Build the volunteer database with GravityView

Now we'll use GravityView to turn those entries into a searchable volunteer database on the front end of your site.

### Create a new View

To create a new View:

- Hover over **GravityKit** and click **New View**
- Give your View a name (only you will see it)
- Select your volunteer registration form as the data source
- Choose the **Table** View type

![Selecting the Volunteer registration form as the data source and the Table View type when creating a new View in GravityView](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/volunteer-management-view-type-1024x617.png)
*The View editor opens next, and that's where the rest of the setup happens*

### Add a search bar

The search bar lets anyone using the database filter volunteers by skill, hours, or city.

New Views already include a **Search Bar** widget in the **Top Widgets** area. If yours doesn't, click **Add Widget** and select **Search Bar**.

![The Top Widgets area in the GravityView View editor with the Search Bar widget highlighted](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/volunteer-management-widgets-1024x410.png)
Click the gear icon on the **Search Bar** widget to open its settings. Then click **Add Search Field** to add **Skills**, **Hours per month**, and **City**![The GravityView Search Bar settings with Skills, Hours per month and City search fields and a Submit button](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/volunteer-management-search-1024x487.png)

### Add fields

Next, scroll down to the **Entries Fields** section. Each field you add here becomes a column in the table. GravityView adds a few columns from your form to get you started. To start from scratch, click **Clear All Fields**, then click **Add Table Column** to add these fields:

- Photo
- Name
- Date of birth
- City (from the Address field)
- Hours per month
- Skills
- Link to Single Entry – In the field settings, set **Custom Label** to `Profile` and **Link Text** to `View Details`.

![The Visible Table Columns area in the GravityView View editor with Photo, Name, Date of birth, City, Hours per month, Skills and Profile columns](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/volunteer-management-columns-1024x671.png)
Next, give your database a clean, modern look. Scroll down to **Settings**, open the **Styles** tab and make sure the **Vantage** theme is selected. New Views use Vantage by default![The Styles tab in the GravityView View settings with the Vantage theme selected](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/volunteer-management-styles-1024x329.png)

### Configure individual volunteer profiles

Clicking **View Details** opens a profile page for that volunteer. You choose what it shows in the **Single Entry Layout**.

Click the **Single Entry Layout** tab at the top of the View editor, then add the fields you want on each profile. We've added the photo, name, hours per month, date of birth, address, and skills.

![The Single Entry Layout tab in the GravityView View editor showing Profile photo, Name, Hours per month, Date of birth, Address, Skills and Link to Edit Entry fields](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/volunteer-management-single-1024x730.png)

### Testing it out

Save your View, then open it on the front end:

![A volunteer database built with GravityView using the Vantage theme, with a search bar and a table of volunteers](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/volunteer-management-table-1024x773.png)
The search bar filters volunteers by skill, hours, or city. Click **View Details** to open a volunteer's profile:![A volunteer's profile page in GravityView showing their photo, name, hours per month, date of birth, address, skills and an Edit Entry link](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/volunteer-management-profile-1024x779.png)

## Step 3 (optional)
*: Allow volunteers to edit their profiles*
GravityView enables logged-in users to edit entries they created, so volunteers can keep their own details up to date. This only works for entries a volunteer submitted while logged in, so each volunteer needs a WordPress account. The [User Registration Add-On](https://www.gravityforms.com/feature/user-registration/) can create one when they sign up.

To turn this on, scroll down to **Settings**, click the **Edit Entry** tab and check **Allow User Edit**.

![The Edit Entry tab in the GravityView View settings with the Allow User Edit checkbox highlighted](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/volunteer-management-allow-user-edit-1024x662.png)
Next, scroll back up to the View editor and add the **Link to Edit Entry** field to the **Single Entry Layout**. To hide its label on the profile, open the field settings and uncheck **Show Label**![The Link to Edit Entry field highlighted in the Single Entry Layout of the GravityView View editor](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/volunteer-management-edit-link-field-1024x249.png)
Now volunteers see an **Edit Entry** link on their own profile. It opens a form where they can update their details. You choose which fields they can change in the **Edit Entry Layout** tab![The Edit Entry link highlighted on a volunteer's profile page](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/volunteer-management-profile-edit-1024x779.png)

## Step 4: Embed your View on a page

Your View has its own URL, but you'll usually want it on a page. To embed it:

- Add the **GravityView View** block to a page or post
- Select your View from the dropdown

## Step 5 (optional): Restrict access to volunteer data

Volunteer records include home addresses and dates of birth, so limit who can see them. You can [restrict your View by login status or user role](https://www.gravitykit.com/gravityview-restricting-a-view/).

That's it! You now have a working volunteer management system.

## Final thoughts and more inspiration

With Gravity Forms and GravityView, you can build a volunteer management system that fits how your nonprofit works, without writing code or paying for another subscription. Registered nonprofits can also [apply for discounted GravityKit pricing](https://www.gravitykit.com/apply-for-nonprofit-pricing/).

For more ideas, see how the Larry L. Hillblom Foundation uses GravityView for [grant application management](https://www.gravitykit.com/case-study/43folders-technology-solutions/), or read our tutorial on [building a fundraising dashboard](https://www.gravitykit.com/fundraising-dashboard/).

Ready to build yours? [Get GravityView](https://www.gravitykit.com/products/gravityview/) or [try it on a free demo site](https://gravityview.demo.gravitykit.com/).